The present invention relates generally to passenger and wheelchair ramps and more particularly to a wheelchair ramp mountable in a low floor height vehicle and foldable for convenient storage in the vehicle. The device is unfolded to provide a ramp for wheelchairs and passengers to access the vehicle.
There has been an increasing interest in developing automated devices to facilitate the mobility of people who have difficulty walking. Although various forms of wheelchairs have helped considerably, their users face many obstacles, such as getting in and out of vehicles like vans and buses. Wheelchair ramps are used to assist in the loading and unloading of passengers from vans, buses and other such vehicles. However, available ramps are often bulky and cumbersome. When bulky ramps are installed in vehicles, the components of the vehicle must be rearranged to accommodate the sizable ramps. For example, when known ramps are installed in a bus, typically, the chassis rail of the bus must be partially cut to receive the ramp. Furthermore, the fare box may have to be repositioned to accommodate the ramp. In some buses, passenger seats are removed to allow additional room for the housing and operation of the ramps. Consequently, there is a need for new passenger ramps that are compact and capable of being installed in a vehicle without requiring the components of the vehicle to be rearranged. Yet, the ramp must be large enough and sufficiently durable to support the combined weight of a wheelchair and a person thereon during the loading and unloading process.
A foldable wheelchair ramp is disclosed having a mountable base, a first ramp section and a second ramp section. In an extended configuration, the first and second ramp sections form a single, continuous ramp for facilitating wheelchair access to a vehicle. For convenient storage, the first and second ramp sections fold with respect to each other and preferably retract into the vehicle floor such that, in the folded configuration, the top surface of the second ramp section lies substantially in the same plane as the vehicle floor.
A linking assembly is provided to facilitate and control the folding and unfolding of the ramp sections based on the movement of the deployment mechanism. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the linking assembly includes a driving arm, a driven arm and a fold facilitating arm. The driving arm can be hydraulically, electrically or pneumatically powered. The driven arm is preferably pivotably connected to the driving arm and causes the first ramp section to rotate toward the base during the folding process. The driven arm is also pivotably connected to the fold facilitating arm, which causes the second ramp section to pivot and fold with respect to the first ramp section. When the ramp is in a fully folded configuration, the bottom surfaces of the ramp sections are preferably positioned in a facing relationship to each other and the linking assembly is stored in a storage area below the plane of the vehicle floor.
For safety purposes, the ramp also includes a lid that covers the empty storage area when the linking assembly has moved out of the storage area. The lid is preferably biased in an open position to allow the linking assembly access to the storage area during folding. To close the lid, a closing spring preferably connects the lid to a support member. When the ramp is extended outward, the driving arm preferably contacts the support member, causing the support member to pivot and the spring to pull the lid into a closed position.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description. It is to be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way of illustration and not limitation. Many changes and modifications within the scope of the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications.